Portugal

Since ancient times, salt has played a key role in the lives of human beings. Used primarily as a means of preserving foodstuffs, it acquired vital importance during the Roman Empire, and is the derivation of the word “salary”. This was because it was common practice in Rome for employees of the Empire, such as legionaries, to receive their wages (or salaries) in salt, as payment for their services. The areas where salt was extracted became so important strategically that some of them were walled and settlements were created to defend this asset. The oldest known record of Portuguese salt …

ASAE, the Economic and Food Safety Authority, was set up in 2005 under the Ministry of the Economy and in the nine years since it was set up, until 2014, it had amassed some 175 million euros from inspections, criminal proceedings, seizures and other offences. Since it started, ASAE, the authority specialising in food safety and economic surveillance, has triggered opposing sentiments. Viewed by some as the enemy of traditional businesses and what is known as “home-made” produce, it is recognised by many as a guarantor of food quality, consumer protection and fair competition between economic operators. Its operational policy …

How is one to uphold confidentiality on the one hand and transparency on the other, two such contrasting values in politics that are normally mutually exclusive? In the Brussels of the EU, it can be done. Political life there operates in the same way as in the German fairy-tale of Schilda, a village that once had to be re-built. However, it was only when their houses were finished that the villagers noticed that the architects had forgotten the windows. And so from then on they lived in the dark. But then the village head hit on an idea. They could …

ECO123 went to meet some small producers who add value to Algarve gastronomy. Through their work, regional products are turned into culinary specialities that satisfy a wide range of tastes. Fresh Algarve goat’s cheese, honey and medronho brandy are some of these traditional products that are perfect for discovering the flavours of the Algarve. Traditional fresh cheese The Queijaria Martins in Portela da Nave in Salir, which opened in 2009, makes fresh goat’s cheese every day. This small factory, owned by Idálio Martins, distributes its product in Salir, Messines and Loulé. Aged 33, the owner of the cheese factory says …

The problem is “contemporary, healthy nutrition” and it’s to do with farming, harvesting, conservation, transport, preparation, with foods that are too fatty, with too much meat and not enough time. Have I forgotten anything? What about excruciating industrial livestock farming, the use of hormones and antibiotics, genetic manipulation…? There is so much you can do wrong, and there is only one correct way to live healthily. From the outset, ECO123 decided that it would look for solutions to problems. Often, there is a solution right on your doorstep, sometimes even in your own garden and you run the risk of …

Rede Convergir – Centre Part of the “Rede Convergir” (Converge Network), the project “Há Festa no Campo!” (literally: There’s festivity in the countryside) aims to support the local development of Juncal do Campo, Freixial do Campo, Barbaído and Chão da Vã, four small villages in the district of Castelo Branco, by organising activities of a cultural and social nature. Promoted by a group of associations and other organisations and run by the Associação EcoGerminar (1), this project is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (2), and is planned to last for three years, until 2016. According to Marco Domingues, chair …

Rede Convergir – North Throughout history, rivers have played a key role in the establishment of human communities, from which they drew their sustenance, and for the development of communication networks. The relationship between humans and rivers is an ancient one, and, for millennia, has been balanced and beneficial. However, in the last few centuries, and particularly in recent decades, the negative impact of human activity has become evident in the water courses. The unrestrained and generalised use of the rivers as a system for disposing of waste has contributed to a large extent to the marked degradation of the …

Rede Convergir – South Quinta da Fornalha in Castro Marim is a holistic project that has belonged to the same family for several generations. The current owner, 33-year-old Rosa Dias, took up this project in 2008 as she felt “a certain urgency about preserving the culture and heritage of our ancestral memories.” She adds that the project “is based on the idea of taking a traditional farm, which would be antiquated in terms of the traditional paradigm, and turning it into an economically viable project.” And that is what is happening at present with the Quinta da Fornalha. Apart from …

In a spirit of cooperation and in an integrated and inclusive manner, this association works for sustainability and personal and community development. Its philosophy can be summarised in three simple ideas based on the ethics of permaculture: 1) CARING FOR NATURE Total respect for, and the conservation of, all living things enable holistic cycles to be generated. These sustain the biodiversity that is necessary for the earth to remain balanced and capable of generating the biocapacity that allows for life on earth; 2) CARING FOR PEOPLE It is not possible to care well for people (starting with ourselves) without caring for …

This project is located in the Alto Minho region of this country and is based on the concept of Slow Food. It is trying to counter the trend towards the phenomenon of mass, rapid and standardized production of fast food. Slow food means eating better, and sitting at a table to appreciate a real meal, in peace, in the company of friends; it means making the act of eating into a gratifying experience that gives you pleasure; it is about discovering flavours, appreciating the shapes and colours of fresh foods, and understanding the relationship between what we eat and the …